A friend of mine has just renovated the vast underground of the China Millennium Monument. It'll be called the Museum of Digital Arts. With three small movie theaters, she intends to turn it into a hotbed of art films.

"I'll not show a single commercial film," declares Chen Caiyun. "It'll be a mecca for film fans who demand the best. And we have a large display area for materials that compliment the movies shown, and the movies will include short films and documentaries."

If enough people are willing to leave behind their habit of watching bootlegged movies, perhaps many of these venues and business models will go off well. And Beijing will one day resemble New York in the richness and diversity of film culture, however remotely.

Jia Zhangke, a film director known for his art-house productions, plans to build cinemas for the genre to better serve the needs of art-loving youths. Provided to China Daily

 By Raymond Zhou